1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the assigning of IP addresses to internal components of a modular network system.
2. The Background Art
The widespread use and acceptance of the Internet has generated much excitement, particularly among those who see advantages in networking their voice and data communications in an Integrated Communications System (“ICS”). The ICS is often comprised of a manufacturer's proprietary system. Thus in order to set up and maintain the ICS, a computer network specialist trained and certified in the manufacturer's proprietary system is needed. Due to the nature and importance of keeping the computer network online and working properly, the computer network specialist is often a permanent employee of the business entity installing and maintaining the ICS.
An ICS system 100 known in the art is shown in FIG. 1 and includes an ICS chassis 110 including at least one internet router 116 known in the art. The user 120, usually a trained and certified computer network specialist, sets up and configures the ICS 110 which typically may involve the selecting the proper network and router cards for the ICS chassis 110, the assigning of IP addresses for the various components within the ICS chassis, and the verifying of proper communication between the ICS chassis and various hardware components such as IP telephones, personal computers, and IP video.
Once the ICS chassis is properly configured, a vendor 140 may communicate with both the user 120 and the ICS 110 using a network such as the Internet 130. Once so connected, the vendor 140 may remotely assist the user 120 in the configuration and trouble shooting of the ICS 110.
However, small to medium size businesses typically cannot afford to have a computer network specialist on staff full time.
Hence, there is a need for an ICS that can automatically configure itself without the need for a computer network specialist.
One aspect of an automatic configuration is the assigning of IP addresses to the internal occupants of the ICS chassis 110.
A problem is known in the automatic configuration of the ICS in that since the ICS may be a part of a Local Area Network (“LAN”), other components operatively coupled to the LAN but not part of the ICS chassis may also be assigned an IP address. If an external component is assigned an IP address by the ICS, then the ICS may interfere with the operation of other devices on the network, such as another ICS 7750
Although having an on-site computer network specialist may not present a problem to large business enterprises, small to medium sized business often cannot justify the cost of hiring a dedicated computer network specialist to maintain an ICS. In order to provide a low cost and effective ICS for small to midsize businesses, an ICS is desired that does not require a highly trained computer network specialist to be on staff with that business. In order to automatically configure the internal chassis occupants, the ICS must be able to differentiate internal chassis occupants from network components external to the ICS, and assign an IP address to the internal chassis occupants and not to the external components.